Sox win behind Crawford and Gonzalez home runs

Sox win behind Crawford and Gonzalez home runs

Returning to the mound for the first time in almost a month, John Lackey earned his first victory since April 24 as the Red Sox completed a sweep of the Oakland A's with a 6-3 victory.

Lackey, who spent three weeks on the DL with elbow soreness, allowed three runs on just two hits in 5 23 innings. He hit three batters and walked two others.

A three-run homer by Carl Crawford -- his first homer of the season at Fenway -- spotted the Sox a quick lead on Oakland starter Brett Anderson.

Adrian Gonzalez added a two-run homer to the opposite field in the fourth for his third home run of the homestand. A run-scoring single by Dustin Pedroia in the sixth accounted for the final Red Sox run.

David Ortiz had three of the Red Sox' 12 hits and was robbed of a fourth when former teammate Coco Crisp sprinted to the triangle in right-center and robbed him of extra bases in the sixth.

"My career had fallen into an abyss because I was so complacent with things that I had already accomplished," Sandoval said. "I did not work hard in order to achieve more and to remain at the level of the player that I am and that I can be."

After dealing Travis Shaw to the Brewers, Sandoval is expected to be the Red Sox primary third baseman in 2017.

"I am not taking anything for granted," he said. "I am here to work hard. I'm not thinking about the position or not. I am starting from scratch, and I am here to show what I can do on the field."

The 30-year-old says he’s following a “really strict routine” this offseason, and it shows. In a recent photo, Sandoval appears noticeably thinner. Sandoval says his wife giving birth to “Baby Panda” has served as inspiration.

"Watching 'Baby Panda' grow up and that he gets the opportunity to see his father play in the majors for seven, eight more years, to get back to the success I had, that's my motivation every day," Sandoval said. "The people that I surround myself with now and my family, they are the key to my success. This has been a life lesson."